ROSALES, Pangasinan—Agricultural groups have condemned the announcement of National Economic and Development Authority director-general Arsenio Balisacan that the agency was proposing the importation of an additional 1 million metric tons of rice for the first quarter 2016.
Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura chairman and Abono Party-list chairman Rosendo So said they would instead prefer an increased budget for crop insurance to broaden the scope of the farmers whose crops were affected by natural calamities.
The additional funds would also help in the irrigation of crop fields to sustain the production of rice farmers.
“Instead of justifying the need for another round of rice importation bonanza that are only helping the rice industry of other countries, we appeal to the government to provide all possible incentives to help our rice farmers recover from Typhoon Lando,” So stated.
According to their statement, imported rice would cost $415 per metric ton.
The amount could be channeled to subsidize seeds, farm inputs and irrigation, and the broadened insurance coverage.
Sinag and Abono Party-list also demanded the government to increase the budget allotted for Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. The government’s allocated budget was P1.6 billion.
They said that the increase in budget would help the agency in broadening the scope of insurance grantees.